For beginners - Point and shoot flash

[Chris Bangs]

Hi Jim

a note on Film, the lower the ASA the finer the grain therefore you can make bigger enlargments without seing the grain.

also, Fuji Film is better for UW photography. more vibrant colors!

You may even try shooting slide film. Slide ( positive ) film does not require the lab to adjust the colors, what you shoot is what you get! also my be cheaper to use as you do not have to pay for prints you do not like

 

[Ishie]

Thank you for all the helpful advice. We'll be in Tahoe this weekend, so that will give us some chance to play with the camera. We're seriously considering a digital, though we're deciding on a direction. We were looking a lot at the Reefmaster due to its ease and price. We'll go with Fujifilm too. I think it's actually cheaper too!

Ishie

 

[Jim Ernst]

dito on what ishie said there chris, thanks again from the both of us , we will give it a try!!

 

[Got2dive]

Chris, first off, I want to thank you for taking the time to school the novice UW photogs... and your photos are beautiful!
While I am not a professional photog, I have a decent land set up (Canon EOS 630, 75-300mm, 70-210mm, 35-105mm 28-80mm, 20-35mm). When it comes to getting it all wet, that's a different beast. I have an inexpensive setup that is quite limited (Sea&Sea MX-5 w/50cm close up lens), but wasn't ready to plunk down big bucks during the learning curve. This camera was a gift.
After seeing the results (although each dive trip gets better), I am disappointed because that "one" shot didn't come out. My main frustration is with the point-and-shoot factor instead of the SLR and compensating for the difference between the viewfinder and the lens.
I have consistently sent my film off to a Sea Processing lab (bucks spent there) for developing, but am pleased with the print quality being true to life (Fuji 400 ISO).

I guess my question to you is, should I stick with my current set up and deal w/dissapointment, or invest in a UW digital and/or housing? I wouldn't imagine that a housing is avail for the Canon 630, or is there?

Thanks for the tips... and sharing your photos with the board.

 

[Got2dive]

Jim & Ishie,
Howdy neighbors! Glad to see some locals on the board here!

 

[Chris Bangs]

I guess my question to you is, should I stick with my current set up and deal w/dissapointment, or invest in a UW digital and/or housing? I wouldn't imagine that a housing is avail for the Canon 630, or is there?

Thanks for the tips... and sharing your photos with the board.

Thanks for the kind words. I truly enjoy helping out. the time zone issue tends to delay my posting. now 4 am here!

anyway, if you know photography on land then taking it underwater is quite simple, Your current camera may never make you happy, sorry.

I checked the ikelite site and the 630 is NLA, but you may be able to find a second hand one. as for your lenses the only one that is really suited for uw use the the 20-35. the longer zooms are difficult if not impossible to use.

I would suggest going digital, a reasonable Olympus set up like their older "C" 3040, 4040, or even the newer 5050, that will produce very nice results. savings in film and processing will recoup the cost.

another more expensive option would be to get a digital Rebel and a housing, then you could still use your current lenses on land. but such a setup would also require a external strobe. more $$.

this just depends on how serious you want to be with your underwater work.

feel free to fire away as many questions as you like.

 

[Ishie]

Jim & Ishie,
Howdy neighbors! Glad to see some locals on the board here!

Hi there!!!!! Good to see other Sacramento-ans around!

Ishie

 

[Jim Ernst]

hey there it is nice to see that there are othere locals on the board, and learning photography, welcome aboard and we are always looking for others to dive with, that being ishie and i. good luck

 

[Got2dive]

Chris...
Thanks for your reply... the Olympus setup may be the best solution since we are looking to go digital soon and adding a housing will give me the best of both worlds. What about a strobe? I know that having an movable flash is one of the main factors in reducing backscatter. If I went with, say the Olympus C770, and got the UW housing, would I be able to add an external strobe?

Hey to Jim and Ishie...
Would love to do some diving with locals but there's no where around here I'm crazy about diving (Monterey too cold, and crappy viz). I've become spoiled by tropical locations! But it's great to get to know more divers the area. Send me a PM and we can chat.

 

[Chris Bangs]

Chris...
Thanks for your reply... the Olympus setup may be the best solution since we are looking to go digital soon and adding a housing will give me the best of both worlds. What about a strobe? I know that having an movable flash is one of the main factors in reducing backscatter. If I went with, say the Olympus C770, and got the UW housing, would I be able to add an external strobe?

I checked the C770, I think you should consider the C 5060 or another older model like the 5050 These have full manual capabilities AND most important they ones accept Compact Flash cards in addition the the SD media! Compact flash is becoming the standard and the cards are now available up to 8 GB. The retail price between the C770 and the C5060 is minimal.

I do not think there is all that much difference in the housing cost if you go with oly.

as for the strobe, the Inon strobes are designed for use with consumer digi cameras, and may be your best choice.

you should start a thread in the OLY forum regarding your camera choice. consider how much manual control you desire!